The Others (2001)

A woman who lives in her darkened old family house with her two photosensitive children becomes convinced that the home is haunted.

Director:

Alejandro Amenábar

Writer:

Alejandro Amenábar

Stars:

Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston, Fionnula Flanagan

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 29 wins & 51 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Nicole Kidman	...	Grace
Fionnula Flanagan	...	Mrs. Mills
Christopher Eccleston	...	Charles
Alakina Mann	...	Anne
James Bentley	...	Nicholas
Eric Sykes	...	Mr. Tuttle
Elaine Cassidy	...	Lydia
Renée Asherson	...	Old Lady
Gordon Reid	...	Assistant
Keith Allen	...	Mr. Marlish
Michelle Fairley	...	Mrs. Marlish
Alexander Vince	...	Victor
Ricardo López	...	2nd Assistant
Aldo Grilo	...	Gardener

Storyline

A woman named Grace retires with her two children to a mansion on Jersey, towards the end of the Second World War, where she's waiting for her husband to come back from battle. The children have a disease which means they cannot be touched by direct sunlight without being hurt in some way. They will live alone there with oppressive, strange and almost religious rules, until she needs to hire a group of servants for them. Their arrival will accidentally begin to break the rules with unexpected consequences.

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Plot Keywords:

mansion | haunting | surprise ending | suicide attempt | able to see the dead | 

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Taglines:

Sooner or later she'll see them, then everything will be different.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and frightening moments

Details

Official Sites:

Central Partnership [Russia] Official Facebook

Country:

Spain USA France Italy

Language:

English French

Release Date:

10 August 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Darkness

Filming Locations:

Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,089,952, 12 August 2001

Gross USA:

$96,522,687

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$209,947,037

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cruise/Wagner Productions, Sogecine, Las Producciones del Escorpión

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In a pivotal scene, Grace finds a photograph album containing pictures of people she believed to be sleeping. Mrs. Mills informs her they're all deceased, and that people photographed the deceased in the previous (19th) century. In reality, people did photograph their deceased loved ones during the late 19th century. Most were photographed lying down, as if in a deep sleep; others would be propped up in chairs, posed with favorite objects (children with favorite playthings; adults with books or newspapers), or standing up, with the help of special frames or supports.

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Goofs

During a conversation by the fire with Mrs. Mills, Grace's wristwatch appears, disappears and appears again.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Grace: Now children, are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin... This story started many thousands of years ago, and it was all over in just 7 days. All that long long time ago, none of the things we can see now, the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, the animals and plants, not a single one existed. Only God existed. And so only he could have created them. And he did.

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Crazy Credits

Before the opening credits or music begin, we hear Grace's voice over a black screen; she says (in the manner of a mother about to tell a bedtime story), "Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin."

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Alternate Versions

Theatrical releases included a longer credit sequence with sketches of Nicole Kidman in the attic and the servants, SFX differences, and some lines of dialogue that were deleted from all subsequent home media releases and TV airings (most notably to make certain plot revelations less obvious).

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Connections

Featured in 20 to 1: Hollywood Twists (2011)

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Soundtracks

Vals Opus 69 No.1 (Op. Posth.)
(1835)
Written by Frédéric Chopin
Performed by Jean-Marc Luisada
Courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon Universal Music Group

User Reviews

A throwback to the great spooky Gothic films

Rarely does a scary film come around that isn't schlocky and obvious. 'The Others', directed by the great Alejandro Amenabar (Abre los Ojos) is a stylish, spooky and fun film to watch that doesn't cheapen itself like so many in the genre. It is 1947 on the island of Jersey in England, and Grace (Nicole Kidman) is the mother of two small children, Charles (Christopher Eccleston) and Anne (Alakina Mann) who are allergic to the sunlight, so they are not allowed to go outside. Moreover, any room they are in has to be locked with the curtains shut, a cumbersome task in their mansion with its 50 doors. Mysteriously, the mansion's staff left the week before, which precipitates the arrival of three new servants; a gardener and two housekeepers who are promptly hired. Further complicating matters is the fact that Anne keeps talking to an unseen child, and unexplained footsteps, opened curtains and doors opening and shutting are starting to wear thin on the already uber-fragile Grace, until the occurrences threaten their lives.

With 'The Others', Amenabar gives us a truly spooky and stylish thriller. The foggy atmosphere outside of the mansion, the dark rooms lit by candles within the house, both of these are just many of the beautiful stylistic areas of the film. Kidman is great as the incredibly brittle and mentally frayed Grace. While she puts on a cool, haughty façade, the circumstances she finds herself in are clearly eating away at her sanity. The actors who play her children are actually quite good themselves, particularly Alakina Mann, who holds her own in her confrontational scenes with Kidman and others. The screenplay, also written by Amenabar is quite intelligent, and if you haven't heard the 'twist' at the end, it is pretty ingenious. It is ingenious and well-written regardless, but the impact upon discovery is pretty decent.

'The Others' is not a phenomenal film by any means, but it is a refreshing change from the standard thriller/suspense fare, because it adds a truly intelligent and stylish bent to the genre. Other than children, (obviously) this film can be recommended to pretty much anyone, as long as they don't expect it to be the frenetic, jump-cut fest that is so prevalent nowadays. 'The Others' takes its time to get to its reveal, and it is worth every minute. 7/10

Shelly